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haul got divorced. And high school romances had less chance of working out. If it was going to end anyway, did it really matter whether or not my motives were honorable? But I couldn’t bring myself to play Tessa that way. A girl like her wouldn’t want to settle for less than some kind of promise of a future. A commitment.
    So I kept my distance and gave her a hundred percent of my attention, directing every last bit of my mental energy toward my studies. Most important, I never flirted. And the less interest I showed, the more relaxed she appeared. If I kept it up, she might even grow to like me one day. That wasn’t my goal, but I preferred that to her loathing.
    “Well? Are you hitting that?” Brad repeated.
    I scowled. “No.”
    “You sure? ‘Cause you’ve been different lately, since your private lessons.” He lifted one brow. “You’re not going soft on us, are you?”
    “Crossing over to the dark side, Hayden?” Skyler snickered. “Might want to hit that one a little longer before you ditch. She’s so hot.”
    My thoughts exactly. I’d definitely want to take my time with Tessa. My eyes found her again. She glanced at me as though I’d just whispered those words into her ear. I wasn’t sure if I liked how she seemed to see into my soul. It made me uneasy.
     It also intrigued me and made me want her more.
    “ There’s something I’ve been thinking about.” A goofy grin covered Skyler’s face. “The new girl from Romania. Very hot. I’ll see you guys later.”
    “You going to Christina’s Halloween party this weekend?” Brad asked.
    “Don’t know yet.” I’d rather find some excuse to see Tessa. But she wasn’t right for me and I shouldn’t allow myself to indulge. There were other things to concentrate on, namely graduating. But I also needed something to take my mind off Tessa — like other girls. “You know, a party at Christina’s sounds perfect.”
    “Excellent.” Brad grinned.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Tessa
     
    The bell rang and Hayden trailed after me along the outside of the main building.
    “You only met with them two days ago. What do they want?” He nodded toward the auditorium.
    To practice my supernatural powers. Only three days and my ability to pull pictures had improved dramatically. But now that I could do it, the visuals cluttered my head and ravaged my peace of mind. It should have been fun, plucking images from the minds of everyone I encountered. Instead, ugly truths ambushed me at inconvenient times and made me wish for ignorance.
    As near as I could tell, the guys fantasized about me more than any other girl in school. Though the knowledge raised my confidence, did I really want to see myself making out with Tom in Lab or Jose in PE? I constantly changed my mind about whether or not the power was more trouble than it was worth.
    Desperation for peace of mind gnawed at me. I needed to practice blocking unwanted pictures. But Hayden had asked me a question. “We brainstorm, go over clues. They ask me questions and we try to figure out what’s going on. If they have any news, they’ll fill me in. Last time, Agent Phillips promised to give me some self-defense tips at this next meeting.”
    Hayden stopped just before the doors. “It’s weird. If you’re in so much danger that you need to be watched full time, why do they let you go to school at all? Why not put you in protective custody? I don’t know. An FBI agent and the principal spending a private hour with you, then volunteering self-defense tips — all without involving your parents? Don’t you think it sounds a little fishy?”
    Not if you knew what I know. “N-no.”
    Hayden stared into my eyes a moment. “I’ll see you after my PE class.” He pushed past me to get the door and his arm brushed my shoulder.
    Little electric ripples shot down to my toes. I had to get a grip. The last thing I needed was to get all puppy-eyed over a guy like Hayden. Sure,